Chapter 24: Preparing to Slaughter

The clamor of arrows colliding with fists outside continued, but Old White, who had been pressed against the door, had already withdrawn his gaze.

"That kid actually pulled it off..." he muttered in disbelief.

What he had just witnessed outside the door was simply inconceivable. He had never heard of Luo Xiu and Tasanya being friends—besides, how could that red dragon have any friends? Yet, Luo Xiu had appeared to be chatting and laughing with her, and most importantly, he had actually managed to cop a feel!

Old White walked slowly back to the counter, picked up the cup of tea that had already gone lukewarm, and drained it in one gulp. He sat down in his chair, closed his eyes, placed his right hand on the desk, and pressed his thumb and index finger against the bridge of his nose. It was a habit he had formed over many years whenever he encountered something he couldn't quite fathom.

In his mind, every word Luo Xiu had spoken surfaced one by one, and the scene from outside the door replayed itself. Minutes passed, and when he reopened his eyes, his confusion had not vanished—it had deepened. It wasn't that he hadn't figured it out; on the contrary, he had guessed at a possibility. But that possibility was even more shocking than Luo Xiu smacking Tasanya’s backside, so much so that he consciously stopped himself from thinking any further.

Nearby, the scruffy parrot had flown back from outside at some point and was standing on the table, preening its feathers. Old White looked at the bird with a helpless smile.

"Lad, that kid might be much crazier than I imagined."

The parrot tilted its head at Old White’s words, seemingly not quite understanding. It twisted its neck a few times, then suddenly flapped its wings and squawked:

"Lost! Lost! Lost!"

Old White gave a wry smile. "Yes, yes, I lost the bet to that kid this time..." He paused, a trace of smugness appearing on his face as he added, "But I didn't take a loss."

Indeed, he had lived for many years and had been bested by many people, but he had never truly suffered a loss. This time was no different; although Luo Xiu had won the bet, the actual profit and loss remained to be seen. Thinking of this, Old White chuckled.

"Lad, go to the corner at the very back of the warehouse and fetch another skill book to put in my bedroom. Yes, just put it under the leg of my nightstand; that cabinet is missing a foot and keeps wobbling."

Seeing the parrot fly through the door on the right, Old White felt even more pleased with himself. Luo Xiu might be a madman, but he was still too young and inexperienced. It was just a common skill book; what did it matter if he gave him ten more? They were a dime a dozen outside Wheel Town anyway. He had gotten to watch a good show and seen through some secrets; he wasn't losing anything.

He had thought he might have to rely on Lad to save the boy and that he might get into some trouble, but since the boy had solved it himself, he had actually made a small profit.

"Little Luo Xiu, oh little Luo Xiu..." The more Old White thought about it, the more he felt he was the true winner, and he began to hum a little tune while nodding his head.

Suddenly, however, the scruffy parrot flew out from the door on the right in a panic, flapping its wings frantically and shouting:

"Slave! Slave! Slave!"

"What's wrong with the slave?!" Old White looked at the ruffled, anxious parrot, completely bewildered.

But the parrot's next words made his vision go dark:

"Touched them all! Touched them all! Touched them all!"

Old White leapt from his chair with a shout and charged into the warehouse on the right. Immediately after, a mournful wail echoed from within.

The parrot stood on the table outside the door, chirping with a desolate expression:

"If you touch it, you must buy it! If you touch it, you must buy it! If you touch it... you must buy it!"

...

On the other side, Luo Xiu, having successfully achieved his goal, felt carefree and ran toward Leila with a smile.

"Master, Leila is here!" Seeing that her master was unharmed, Leila waved at him happily.

Luo Xiu approached and habitually patted Leila’s head, laughing, "Did you run into any trouble on the way?"

"No, everything went smoothly." Leila’s ears twitched under his touch, her cheeks flushing. "Master, Mr. Dave thanked you for the note. He sends his regards and hopes you will treat him to a drink next time you meet."

"What were his exact words?" Luo Xiu asked, a look of having seen through everything on his face.

"The... the exact words, Leila doesn't... doesn't know how to tell you, Master." Leila averted her gaze.

"It's fine, just say it." Luo Xiu’s smile was gentle.

Unable to disobey her master’s command, Leila turned her face away, blushing, and whispered:

"Mr. Dave’s exact words were, 'Since that bastard is better now, if he doesn't treat me to a drink next time, I’m going to kick him into a goblin den.'"

Leila imitated Dave’s tone, her voice growing quieter as she spoke, and immediately checked her master’s expression, fearing he might be angry.

But Luo Xiu laughed heartily.

"His thoughts are much like mine; it seems we are compatible in some ways. Let's go, Leila, we’re heading to the Sunset Forest."

Seeing that her master wasn't angry, Leila nodded happily. The two headed toward the north side of town.

On the way, the two chatted about everything under the sun as they usually did. The atmosphere was very harmonious. After obtaining Luo Xiu’s permission, Leila asked a question:

"Master, do you... like women with big backsides?"

Leila blinked her large eyes, looking as if she desperately wanted the answer.

*Damn!* Luo Xiu was momentarily speechless. It seemed Leila had seen him smack Tasanya. After holding his tongue for a moment, Luo Xiu replied:

"...It's alright, I suppose."

Luo Xiu swore he was telling the truth, because he actually preferred larger chests.

"Master, Leila will work hard!" Leila clenched her fists, full of motivation.

"...Good luck!" Luo Xiu encouraged her, feeling a mix of amusement and helplessness. It seemed his Leila hadn't realized that some things couldn't be achieved just by working hard.

For this trip to the Sunset Forest, Luo Xiu chose a location quite different from the past. For safety's sake, they usually hunted patrolling goblins on the outskirts of the forest. But this time, Luo Xiu decided to venture deep into the interior.

One reason was to avoid Tasanya’s pursuit in the short term, and the other was to speed up his leveling. The slime army would begin its siege in ten days, and he needed to find a way to maximize his strength within that time.

The infuriating faces of Hill and Tasanya flashed through his mind.

Yellow. That was the result he got after using [Inspect] on them. It meant they both possessed Third-Tier strength. Although it sounded like the difference between Second and Third Tier wasn't much, Luo Xiu took a deep breath when he thought of those slimes he had seen on the Slime Plains, each one like a moving city wall, which were also Third-Tier.

For the next ten days, he would have to wrong his good friends, the goblins.

Overall, he was quite confident, especially after finishing his study of the newly acquired common skill book, [Enslave].

[LV.1 Enslave: Upon use, can forcibly enslave low-intelligence creatures; can sign slavery contracts with higher-tier creatures like humans with their consent. Violators of the contract will suffer a severe backlash.]

[Next Level: LV.2 Enslave: New effect: You can choose one slave to be your primary dependent (cannot be changed). The primary dependent will gain a certain boost as your own strength increases, and kills made by the primary dependent count as your own.]

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